COLLINGWOOD will be sweating on Darcy Moore's scan results after the Magpies' skipper was substituted out of Friday night's eight-point win over Geelong with hamstring tightness. 

The All-Australian key defender clutched for his hamstring late in the opening quarter and was replaced at the first break, less than a week after Collingwood lost Nick Daicos to a knee injury for six weeks.

Half-back John Noble also came from the ground in the second half with an ankle injury before returning to play out the game, while star midfielder Jordan De Goey copped some bruising knocks in a victory that all but seals the minor premiership. 

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Magpies coach Craig McRae is confident Moore hasn't suffered a hamstring strain and will be available to play before the end of the home and away season. 

"My understanding is he is tight, neural type hamstring. We'll have to scan it, obviously," McRae told reporters on Friday night.

"We'll wait and see what the damage is and what's there. But my understanding is it's not major, but we'll have to wait and see."

When Moore exited the game, Collingwood was 16 points down and had conceded three first quarter goals to Jeremy Cameron, who finished with 7.4 in a vintage performance by the Coleman Medallist. 

But despite the loss of their most valuable player, the Magpies steadied the ship in the second quarter and kicked seven consecutive goals either side of half-time on the back of ferocious pressure and slick ball movement on transition. 

"I'm really pleased with the effort. After quarter-time we really played our version and our brand for most of the night," McRae said.

"You get to see how damaging our ball movement can be. We're still not finished, we're a work in progress. We thought they scored too many easy goals at times, so we need to get to work on that. From where we started from tonight to where we are, I think we've steadied the ship somewhat. 

"We had to bring the best version of us and I thought we re-established parts of our game tonight, which was really pleasing to wrestle back some momentum in the last few weeks."

While Josh Daicos enhanced his All-Australian chances by amassing a game-high 38 disposals – five more than his previous best – eight score involvements and 564m gained, fan favourite Jack Ginnivan reignited his season after being recalled for the first time since round 12.

McRae joked that he has been inundated with messages from fans pleading for him to pick Ginnivan and said the 20-year-old had earned another shot on the back of his application at training and recent form in the VFL.

"You should see the messages we get when we don't pick him. He has a big fanbase. He is a player that ignites the crowd and ignites us. We need energy. Last week we didn't have enough. Guys like him really give us a spark," he said.

"We're really pleased for Jack. I made mention of him post-game around being hungry and waiting for chances. You're sitting in the slips for 90 overs and just waiting for that nick to come, then you've got to grab it. I thought tonight he certainly showed everyone that his best is well and truly in our team. 

"You see outcome, we see process, and the process for six weeks he has been our best trainer; of 44 guys, he is our best trainer; a hungry kid waiting for a chance; he has had to wait longer than others; I thought if we picked him before tonight we were picking him on last year's form; I think in the last few weeks he has produced levels of footy that warranted selection tonight."

Geelong coach Chris Scott was left to lament an almost night where the Cats kicked the final three goals of the game and finished with six more inside 50s, won the clearance count by eight and contested ball by seven, but remain two points outside the eight with two games to play.

"They are always frustrating nights when you're playing good teams and feel like you've had your chances to win the game," Scott said in his post-match press conference on Friday night.

"The disappointing part was just some of the fundamental errors that we made and you just can't do that against Collingwood that we did that gave them easy goals. It is just hard work. 

"Even in the last quarter, we got the shots and guys that you'd normally expect to knock them over missed." 

Cameron produced his most dominant display of the season to rocket up to third on the Coleman Medal leader board, overcoming some injury issues and a form dip across the past two months with a masterclass on the Friday night stage.

"Jeremy kicked seven and it felt like he could have kicked 12. He missed some shots that he kicks before he starts warming up at training. 7.4 doesn't even reflect the dominance that I thought he had or could have had on the game," Scott said.

Geelong will need to beat St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs across the final fortnight of the home and away season to keep its September chances alive.